Hiya, a friend of mine has recently gotten me interested in playing Magic: The Gathering. I've mainly been playing with his decks from all different colors just to experience it, although I haven't tried Black yet (which I really want to). So far, I am enjoying it quite a bit, but I don't feel confident starting my own deck just yet. With that said, would you guys recommend any of the PC variations of Magic? Understandably they can't be as "complete" as the physical cards, but are the games enjoyable? From what I understand, you are unable to create custom decks.

Are they worth a buy? Is it better to play Magic: The Gathering Online?

The Duels of the Planeswalkers games are worth it for their cost, especially if you're a beginner. They are designed to ease new players into the game.

All of the Duels games (except for the one from the 90's) are $10 for the base game. The expansions are usually $5. The base games in Duels 2012 and 2013 have ten basic pre-constructed decks with unlockable cards. The expansions generally include additional decks, sometimes with new deck unlocks for the previous decks.

For example: Duels 2013's first expansion comes with five new decks, but no additional unlocks for the original ten basic decks.

They all have step-by-step tutorials (voiced in Duels 2013) and automatically resolve game mechanics, as well as keep track of various things such as counters, life count, hand size, deck size, etc.

MtG Online is not something I would recommend as a new player for two reasons:- It's equally as expensive, if not more so than paper/real life Magic (and many players can & will testify how bloody expensive both are. One basic physical Intro Pack costs the same as a Duels game and one of its expansions).- It's designed for more experienced players who prefer to customize their decks to the max.